Well, compiling effective link building strategies is just one area of what can only be described as a minefield when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. PJ Web Solutions are a company for whom I currently work. Whilst they have always known how important link building is, PJ Web Solutions are only now attempting to become more proactive in their approach rather than being reactive and look for a source of information that separates the "wood from the trees" when looking to develop an effective link building strategy. It is for this reason why this blog post was born, it will separate the mindless array of junk that is posted on various websites and spam emails detailing ways of building links and will focus on what I regard as the ‘Top 5 effective link building strategies .

5) Effective Link Building Strategy : Internal Links

When a lot of people think of link building strategies they tend to always think about links that link back to their website. Which is fine, however it is integral that the way your own website links to other pages within your site, are structured logically and create content silo’s which ensures that new pages you create are crawled by Google and indexed correctly.

4) Effective Link Building Strategy : Manual Link Submission

Manual link submission is important when developing an effective link building strategy, especially, if you can use non-financial methods of persuasion. It involves manually navigating to relevant websites in your industry and finding a point of contact to request a link to your website. A good starting point is to search for your targeted terms and choose non-competitive websites to request a link from.

3) Effective Link Building Strategy : SEO Directories

Mindlessly submitting your website to as many directories is not a good element of an effective link building strategy and it can be argued that it could even have harmful effects on search rankings. Unfortunately, I am very much in agreement with the idea that if the directory is free then it is not likely to be worth submitting your website to. There are, however, directories worth submitting your site to such as Yahoo and Dmoz.

2) Effective Link Building Strategy : Linkbait and Viral Campaigns

Viral content, if done properly, can be a powerhouse in creating an effective link building strategy. It attracts links by other sites referencing the piece of code which provides the back links to your website. For example free code such as calendars etc that people like to embed on their websites can create links back to you! Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc increase the effectiveness of link viral campaigns, as if people like the piece it will be ‘retweeted’ ‘liked’ and discussed gaining more and more exposure.

1) Effective Link Building Strategy : Content

My opinion is that whilst there is no doubt there are many ways to attract links to your site, some free, others paid for, the most effective way of building links is to prepare good, relevant content that people want to read. Content is king and if written well, it will appear on sites such as Digg, it will be retweeted and cause discussions amongst communities and social media channels. If content is written regularly and well, you can build a kind of social empire that people talk about and look forward to reading. Good ways of generating discussion could be, being slightly controversial, or playing devil’s advocate about a topic in your industry.

Always remember that building an effective link strategy takes time and is very much an ongoing process. If you dedicate the time to do things right there is no doubt you can succeed. Make link building fun, enjoy what you’re writing about and rather than it being a marketing chore, you can enjoy building links and driving your site up the search engine results page rankings (SERPS)!

As an experienced copywriter and media enthusiast, I’ve long been aware of how search and social marketing are changing online journalism. In my day job I see first hand how each serve clients looking to improve their web presence, but I was keen to know more about the mechanics of both.

While strengthening my knowledge in this area would undoubtedly give me more to offer in my role as an SEO copywriter, I would also have the perfect playground to test out the things I would be learning. As the person in charge of online marketing for the Grimm Up North movie weekender in Manchester, I was already using social networks for film marketing and festival promotion – but now I had the chance to see if I was doing it right.

Firstly, I addressed the ‘conversion versus branding’ debate, deciding that our event would be better using an optimised website to sell tickets, with social media creating a brand identity and greater awareness. Starting with Google’s AdWords, Analytics and Webmaster tools, I began a process of keyword research and site monitoring. In turn, this led restructuring the site to improve navigation and revising all on-site content to reflect a more search-friendly approach. Off-site, I began targeting some of the industry’s most influential bloggers and building a relationship that would trade ‘exclusive’ information and festival access in exchange for content and links on their pages.

Naturally, this external content began to feed into the existing Facebook and Twitter campaigns, allowing us to grow our list of followers and create a #GrimmUpNorth hashtag that would be monitored using Social Mention. Visitors to the main site could see – thanks to an integrated widget – the level of engagement we were having and join the conversation, which in itself became an incredibly useful tool for feedback during the weekend itself. Finally, an event listing was set up on Foursquare to reward users for checking in, with a special prize awarded to the Grimm Up North ‘Mayor’ at the closing night ceremony.

Once the film festival was done, I turned my attention to my own website FilmRant.co.uk, which would be where I would continue to publish my own film writing, but would document my adventures in film marketing, festival promotion and social media. Once again, I redesigned, restructured and optimised the site, using guest blog posts for linkbuilding and revitalising the existing Film Rant social networking channels. 

If there’s one thing I’ll take as a hard lesson learned is that online film festival marketing – like any other search and social media campaign – requires careful planning. With this knowledge and much more, I will now approach future tasks with confidence, but with the readyness to adapt and grow in a field that changes every day.

The SSMM, or Search & Social Media Marketing, course commenced in September 2010. The course took place each Wednesday evening from 16.00 hrs to approximately 20.00 hrs for ten weeks, providing classroom tuition and access to SEMPO Institute accreditation via online course work and exams.

Search Engine Optimisation for Dummies gave me a headache!

Prior to joining the SSMM course I was self-taught in the wonders of the web. I spent many nights staring at a computer screen reading and absorbing all Google had to offer. After the euphoria of uploading a site and finding that it doesn’t works in a fashion. I was asked the question “where, is my site, I can’t find it“.

Trying to find the answer brought me into the world of search engine optimisation. Back to wearing my Google specs to find some answers, reading “Search Engine Optimisation for Dummies” gave me a headache, but provided answers to some of the questions I was being asked. Joining the Search Social Media Marketing course has made me less anti-social and reduced the headaches!

Salford University removes the veil of mystery surrounding Search and Social Media Marketing

Dr Aleksej Heinze, the Seach & Socail Media Marketing programme leader and numerous guest speakers have taken the delegates of the course from keyword searching to site structure content placement and from on page optimisation to off page optimisation best practices. The course also taught us how to use analytics and various other measurements to track and adjust progress of a website. Making use of Web 2.0 or social media networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to protect and promote your business.

SSMM results

During the course I have applied the techniques we have learned, to a website I have been working on. I have got to state that this might not work for everybody but it did for me! The site I have produced has reached page one on Google for one of the competitive search terms I have used, despite the opposition that provides “About 198,000 results” via Google. My client has allowed me to quote the success we have achieved, but has requested that I don’t quote the site in this blog. A link to my company’s site is below.

Keith Hobson

• www.cortelmedia.net
• Keith Hobson on LinkedIn
• @KHobson123

Applications on mobile devices – are they turning us into anti-social individuals? How many applications are there now? There is no point in counting, as more will be created before the day is out. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare are many of the current forms of social networking mobile applications turning us into a group of anti-social individuals, lacking the proper social skills; similar to “hoodies” for the 21st Century. Head down, feverishly tapping away on your device, not paying careful attention to what you are doing, or what is around you, for the need to be kept up-to-date with the latest information. Companies, in particular, now see the benefit of being able to do business within the mobile marketplace in a blog written by Raam Thakrar, the CEO of Touchnote He raised a number of key areas of benefit for the SME marketplace in "Taking advantage of mobile phone technology" with one being M-Commerce. He believes it will only be a matter of time for customers to make safe transactions on their mobile phone as the mobile phone is the only form of technology they have close to them at all times. However the issue of security is raised as mobile phones does not offer the same level of protection as a computer when buying online is concerned, plus it needs individuals to be confident of making these purchases in this manner, despite high levels of physical theft or misuse.

The invention of Smart phones and variations of iPads means a new big juicy screen, clarity to write what you want when you want, turning individuals into mobile businesses, able to have the power of a PC in their hand. From a social networking aspect, people are able to interact through recording, uploading and updating information or content to view and receive vital information then comment on without the need of powering up a computer. However, with the ability to update details, are we missing out on vital information in the real world? Lets have a look at some o the drawbacks of the "social mobile devices":

Windows 7 Phone Ad

With innovations like FourSquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places people are eager to “check in” on a mobile device to a variety of places and venues to gain badges and rewards for unlocking new venues and places of interest. This could be a great thing until you start adding “friends” or worse the person in your “relationship” as they will be able to track you easily, especially when you have to “work late” on that “important brief for the boss by the end of the week”!

Spelling anyone?

Here’s a great test. How badly has your hand writing suffered over time since you have been using a computer? What about spelling? Do you find that you use more in the way of “text language” when talking to people instead of full sentences? (Cheers m8! C U l8r! ) ) Is this attributed to the amount of characters Twitter allows per tweet, or just a convenient way to get a long message across in abbreviations.

The “Cheers” Factor

Remember Cheers? The Boston bar where “Everybody knows your name”? Like any local, the idea of interacting with people from long-standing relationships has been replaced with requests from total strangers just because they frequent the same establishment. The idea of being socially accepted using this means your circle of friends has grown immensely, even though there is nothing in common with that person apart from frequenting the same venue.

So, what about the future?

Virtua Friends or “iM8s” may be a great acquisition in the short-term through these various applications, however there is nothing like leaving new mobile phone technology alone for a while to gain a sense of reality in the “real world”. Meeting someone in person provides a different set of emotions, a real relationship through having some kind of history or background:

Window 7 Phone

T-Mobile advert

Overcoming any stress-related mobile phone abuse

The number of mobile phone and hand related injuries will continue to rise from the extension of texting, so here are some exercises to overcome any pains that may surface

• Tap each finger with the thumb of the same hand. Repeat five times.
• Pull your thumb firmly with the other hand. Repeat five times.
• Wrap an elastic band around the tips of fingers and thumb and open your hand against the resistance. Repeat 20 times.
• Palms down wrap an elastic band around each thumb and force apart. Repeat 20 times.
• Tap the palm and back of your hand on your thigh as quickly as you can. Repeat 20 times.
• Massage thumb web, back of forearm and front of forearm. Two minutes.
• Press and rub in a circular motion the painful nodules in those muscles. Thirty seconds for each nodule.
• Reach up high with both arms and shake your hands. Reach down low with both arms and shake. Repeat three times.
• Arms at 45 degrees, squeeze them behind you.
• If it still hurts after a week of doing exercises, wrap an ice pack on sore hand and arm parts. Do not put ice directly on the skin but wrap in a thin cloth or piece of kitchen roll. Ten minutes on, 10 minutes off. Repeat three times.

More and more businesses are looking towards new technology to keep people informed of the latest news and information, possibly due to these devices being readily available for mass consumption. Most noticeably, the BBC wanted to close a number of their websites, and instead channel it through iPhone applications, in a blog created by Rory Cellan-Jones entitled “Governement apps: a case for the axe?” So, just as we are getting our heads out of the sand like ostriches, there seems to be a movement to get us looking down again to interact with the world.

With that in mind, I’m going to call my mate and arrange to meet up in the pub… then log in to Foursquare to “check in” to the venue we’re going to meet up in, and do the same on Facebook and Twitter. If I need people to know how popular I am…

Make sure you check in here when on the Search Social Media Marketing course

SEO for Developers…

‘SEO for All’ will explain why web pages – all online material, in fact – should be optimised to make them findable and that – much like web accessibility – this optimisation will not be too great a burden. Online material that has been optimised for findability has a great deal in common with accessible material: it tends to feature tightly focused content built on well-structured foundations. Findable and accessible sites tend to feature appropriate and focused architecture, supported by logical navigation and rich links. Findability works for the standardista and for the consumer.

…and the Rest of Us

Why all? Why not just web developers? The world of Web 2.0 is a world in which audience is author, the wisdom of the crowd authoritative. ‘SEO for All’ has it that anyone who writes for the web – do you tweet on a a particular subject or interest? have you reviewed Call of Duty online? – can apply simple guidelines to focus their message; focused messages are good for Google, reach readers and….well, you get the point.

‘SEO for All’ then, not just all webbies, all designers or all developers. Why ‘the missing link’, though? What’s missing?

The Missing Link: Me!

Or what I learned from Salford Business School’s course in Search & Social Media Marketing

What was missing was a personal awareness of the reality of SEO. I’m writing this at the back end of a 10 week, 4 hours a pop, ‘study when you’re bushed and the kids have gone to bed’ course in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Social Media Marketing run by Salford Business School just down the road from Manchester City Centre. From the general to the particular. Background and details. Beginner to professional. Well, not really. No one gets to be professional in anything after a mere 40 hours.

Principles, Real Professionals & Sandwiches

What you do get though, is a thorough grounding in the principles behind SEO and SMM (the course is acronymed as SSMM – Search and Social Media Marketing), the detailed techniques used in increasing findability and encouraging buzz and exposure to the various tools of the trade. You also get exposure to the real professionals, in the form of a weekly guest lecture by some of the most influential commercial SEO/SSMM organisations in Manchester. The likes of Latitude, MEC Manchester, PushOn and MediaVest. You also get access to SEMPO (international search engine marketing professional organisation) material and certification; the course fee includes 3 separate SEMPO Institute courses and awards. And sandwiches.

SEO: Corporate Fascism?

For me – and, I suspect, a great many experienced web professionals – my interests and professional development over the last 10 years have included CSS, XHTML, PHP & MySQL, JavaScript, design patterns with a smattering of Apache and other server technologies. SEO was mentioned in hushed tones, if at all: text hidden by CSS, Google queries producing pages of link farms, source code which is 90% keyword tag…SEO was, like, working for the man, man, while we worked with flowers in our hair. SEO, then, was the blackest of black hat. Don’t sell the roses, smell them…

SEO: Absolutely Ethical

So what’s changed? Well, other than the stunning insight that the vast majority of SEO techniques – and practitioners – are absolutely ethical, the last 10 weeks have shown me that optimising web material so that it is easily findable (or, as appropriate, rises to the top of a search engine results page, or SERP as they are known in the trade) involves processes that, quite simply, complement the whole gamut of web standards.

Why SEO Matters or Here Come the Numbers

Earlier in the year Royal Pingdom reported that in 2009 there were 234 million websites, of which 47 million had been created in that year.

Here are some numbers from Blogpulse a couple of days ago:

• Total identified blogs: 150,389,988
• New blogs in last 24 hours: 45,126
• Blog posts indexed in last 24 hours: 778,260

Almost a MILLION new blog posts today. Clearly it’s not the material that’s not there. Sure, the numbers are at best a rough guide. A blog post can be a single line. There’s no quality control. And no one reads it.

Ah…no one reads it.

Does that matter? Well, yes, it does if what you’ve got to say is relevant, reasoned, reasonable and just plain right! Without going down philosophical back-alleys, common sense tells me that most of us write for an audience. Most of us work for organisations that seek to promote themselves. This is not simply a matter of persuasion; in many (most?) cases, our organisations have an audience that are actually looking for the material we publish.

Let’s be clear about this: ‘our stuff’ is better than ‘their stuff’ (if you dont’ feel that, do it again) and we owe it to the public to make sure that when they want information, they get it from us! When statistics show that almost three-quarters of searchers click on a result from the first page of results, you’d better make sure that’s where your stuff sits.

Just as separation of style, content and behaviour are elements of standards-based, scalable, future-proof websites, findability achieved by Search Engine Optimisation is a vital ingredient in the toolbox of anyone who writes or develops for the web.

SEO for All: What to Do Next

Surf: 10 SEO Techniques All Top Websites Should Use (blog: 2008);

Study: Do the Course – Salford Business School’s Search and Social Media Marketing, designed and taught by University of Salford academics and industry professionals;

Read: Building Findable Websites (it’s a book by Aarron Walter – New Riders, 2008). The website also features a Findability Checklist.

Play: 10 free tools for Web and SEO Analytics.

Thanks for reading…

mark

Mark Sanders

Twitter: @mark_l_sanders
LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/markislinkedin
FB: facebook.com/markspages
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/chorltonweb

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING; `SHOW ME THE MONEY’

No matter how much of a `feel good’ factor any business has about social media, in the end, hard-headed marketing managers only really ask one question; `How can we make money from using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the rest of these time-consuming networks?’

The answer lies in identifying particular `tribes’ of users who are potentially your customers, your brand champions, your harshest critics when things go wrong, and born communicators – yes, some people are going to do your marketing for you. How cheap is that?

THE FIRST FACEBOOK UPDATE WAS A CAVE PAINTING

As the well known Twitterer @lesanto noted recently, Facebook 40,000 years ago was a cave painting. The update was `We hunted and killed today, it was good.’

This highlights what Robin Wight of the Engine Group spoke about at Like Minds in Exeter 2010. Human beings evolved in tribes of around 150-180 people. Our brains cannot truly `know’ more people than this, plus the number gives us a range of skills which helps group survival. So human communication is irrevocably tied to our evolution. That means Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and every other social network is underpinned by this same DNA-mapped reality.

Those who think they have 2000 `friends’ on Facebook are wrong. You don’t know these people. Those who simply broadcast on Twitter, without using Retweets, hash tags or @ replies to have a conversation, are on an ego trip. That isn’t social, it isn’t a conversation.

Any business can head down a digital one way street by simply broadcasting messages, but in the long run, they risk hitting a dead end in marketing terms. You have to listen.

CASE STUDIES; SEO IS CHAPTER ONE, SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE BOOK

I chose two small-medium sized companies as case studies; Frution Broadcast based in Manchester and London, plus MCi Tours, based in Altrincham to test the knowledge acquired on this course.

Fruition’s search ranking is low ( see more background at my Posterous blog ) and the site is heavy with slick flash player media. But the company doesn’t really want public visitors, they want relatively few music industry players to visit the site, be impressed, then hire them. But the SEO site audit did highlight one benefit.

One thing we all know is that people in the UK are looking for jobs right now. I found `event planning jobs’ were the top rising search UK term, up 190% in the last year. `Event co-ordinator’ was up 50%.

I refined it geographically and seasonally in Google trends;

Searches in England showed a spike in August 2010 and London, then Manchester, were top cities last summer.

So Fruition could place a house ad on their site in August, maybe blog and Twitter it too, plus run a PPC ad in the Manchester area during August, leading to a specific job application landing page.

The response could be huge, if so, people could be held on file by Fruition – a talent pool basically, full-time or freelance. All that would save a large amount currently spent on recruitment agency fees or local media advertising. Crucially, it also saves hundreds of man-hours phoning around for staff each year at peak times.

So in terms of using SEO research, we are showing the client the money trail – recruitment gets quicker and cheaper. Result.

THINKING LIKE A CUSTOMER

MCi Tours wanted more people on their motorcycle holidays for 2011, winter is their peak booking season, kicking off with the UK motorcycle show.

Working with MCi Tours’ boss Al McFarlane, we identified three things that could be done over winter to improve things.

1. Audit and tweak the website layout and content to make it more `SEO-friendly.’

2. Try and capitalise on the link traffic that’s coming MCi Tours way. Make it relevant, as well as increase it.

3. Use social media to drive more potential motorcycle touring customers towards MCi Tours – especially those interested in Route 66 US tours, as there seems to be healthy demand at present.

SEO X-Ray revealed just one external link to the site. One of things I’ve suggested to MCi Tours is that they try to get a link from the FSA, because MCi are authorised agents for motorcycle travel and breakdown insurance. Having a link from a government site would be gold dust – we can but try.

SEM Rush found 288 searchers went to MCi Tours site looking for `Motorcycle breakdown insurance.’ Interesting, as it isn’t a core part of the business, but it shows a healthy demand in the market. The fact is many UK insurers do NOT recover your motorcycle from across the English Channel – there’s an opportunity here.

We made a tweak to the site and put `Travel Insurance’ in as a H2 sub-heading and flagged it on the home page separately. MCi Tours didn’t want to commit to a full social media campaign, building Facebook conetent and a fan base of Twitter followers, but they did send a customer database email out announcing their presence at the UK bike show and the FSA-authorised travel insurance.

The result was seven holiday bookings prior to the show, whereas the previous best was two bookings in early November.

SEO works. Good news. The better news for me is that MCi Tours have retained North Point for a six week social media campaign, with live blogging, video clips from the show, posted on a new MCi wordpress blog, also on You Tube. Plus we are building a base of Twitter and Facebook followers running up to the show which opens on the 27th November – see you all there!

THE FUTURE IS MOBILE

One of the things that emerged from TruManchester was that mobile recruitment is growing fast. According to Jobsite UK it still only accounts for around 6% of all traffic, but mobile use was up 390% from Jan 2009 – April 2010. ( source; Jobsite Whitepaper ).

What does it mean in broader terms?

Social media is time consuming, so in the near future, when perhaps 50% of mobile phone users are comfortable using Smartphone browsing, stripped down, graphics heavy interfaces will become the norm. Time spent magnifying screens to tap in passwords painfully slowly, or enter a whole stack of personal data won’t be popular. Smartphone software developers are going to have create social network tools that can be used quickly, easily and intuitively.

Humans are lazy, we like the familiar. Those who insist on bombarding their Facebook `likers’ with spam updates that don’t prompt any conversation, any meaningful interaction, will fall by the wayside. Those companies who already infest Twitter with irritating 140 character PR messages, repeated twice a day and autopost replies to followers just don’t get it. You can’t automate every conversation, people are different, even if they want the same things.

The companies that develop QR code digital `fingerprints,’ which a user can access as their default gateway to the company, a kind of Polaroid snapshot `app,’ will find more business heading their way.

Mobile apps that shortcut the time involved in searching for insurance, jobs via LinkedIn, or buying gig tickets on Facebook, will make small fortunes for those who do it right, and lose large fortunes for those who back the wrong horses. Software which tracks people’s eye/mouse movements and detects their body language via webcams has incredible potential. Where our attention goes, our money follows…

Companies who use social media stripped to its essentials, the basics of human communication will always find a market. If you sell your Facebook Farmville crops to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant and get paid in real money off vouchers, people will buy into that. It is human nature.

SMALL BUSINESS, BIG VALUES

`Brands must be useful and confer status on the user.’

Robin Wight again. It takes an adman to sum up the psychology of why we buy.

So small businesses; there are 500 million people on Facebook, find your `tribe’ within that global nation. Some 300,000 new users open a Twitter account each day, joining 105m already on the network and there are 600m Twitter searches by trend, name or topic each day. Mine that gold dust, it is worth digging deep for it. Social media allows you to set your own algorithms; location, interests, age, occupation, circle of friends, Facebook apps used etc. People buy from people, so show a human face to your company. Be a friend first, a salesperson second.

Do you sell to the trade only, not the public? Use LinkedIn.

Mark Williams, known as @Mr_LinkedIn on Twitter recently noted that this network has probably halved the amount of B2B PR and trade shows that anyone does in the UK. You can join relevant discussion groups and announce conferences, webinars, invite potential buyers to look at your new product video on Vimeo or You Tube. You control it, it’s your online business media – not a big publisher’s trade show or magazine.

If you want to start a conversation, that leads to conversion. Go social.

Alastair Walker

North Point

Richard Hayes is the Marketing Assistant at The University of Salford’s School of Art & Design, he co-ordinates the School’s digital marketing strategy. Richard is also researching “Fear Marketing”, his blog can be read at www.fearmarketing.co.uk.

What are the Higher Education digital marketing plans?

Education marketing is starting to change and Higher Education institutes are finally embracing the use of Social Media as way of directly contacting University applicants. Higher Education digital marketing plans now include the use of sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Bebo and Flickr and many other social networking sites.

It has been shown that these Social Media sites can be a good communication method for Higher Education Institutes as it enables direct contact with Applicants and so (hopefully) increasing applications.

The audience for Higher Education, and so Education Marketing, is students between the ages of 16 – 21 and it has been shown that 75%⁽¹⁾ of that target market regularly use Social Media as a way to communicate.

Higher Education institutes such as University of Salford are using Social Media within it’s digital marketing plan in a number of ways; hosting videos on YouTube, running their own Twitter page, a profile on Facebook, campaigns through Bebo and profiles on LinkedIn.

Though it should be said that these digital marketing campaigns should focus on communicating through social media to potential students and not as a means to communicate to existing students.

Martin Weller, professor of educational technology at the Open University, said that “students do not want their professor as their friend on Facebook”.

Digital marketing plans are becoming mainstream

The 2009 Higher Education in a Web 2.0 report showed that these digital marketing plans are coming from the early adopting few and has little of the systematic and coordinated approach of the more traditional communications media.

The nature of the using these media are that they encourage social networking and should be presented within any digital marketing strategy as elements of a single plan. Too many higher education institutes allow different people to use different tools to reach the same audience, not presenting the cohesive education marketing plan.

Social media are infinitely adaptable to higher education’s changing digital marketing needs and the new way in which it’s target audience communicates. Not only should higher education institute change it’s digital marketing strategies, but also they way that social networking is used.

For any higher education institute the bottom line for any marketing strategy is applications. Education marketing should always focus on the needs of these applicants and use their digital marketing to communicate to them effectively.

The guidelines for the use of Social media for higher education for digital marketing would then be:

1. Listen to your applicants; 75% use social networking and social media, but which ones do your applicants use?

2. Use a coordinated approach for Education Marketing plans and utilise the strength inherent in social media. Don’t just do the check of Facebook, Twitter, etc make sure they are all working together, save time and effort.

3. Use it as a two-way conversation, remembering the social in social media. Remember to reply in good time though, check the sites regularly.

4. Do something different. Using the Social Media is just a start; no one is coming to your University just because they liked you on Facebook. You still have to populate it with great content, stories, videos, images, etc

5. Create some ground rules about what is communicated through the Social Media sites. Getting some boundaries in place before setting it up and communicating to all staff involved is good practice.

(1) Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World, Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience, March 2009

Join us on 17th November 2010 for blog post presentations! As part of their SEO & Social Media training, participants in Salford Business School’s ‘Search & Social Media Marketing’ course are writing individual guest blog posts which will be available soon on www.searchmarketing.salford.ac.uk

Why might you wish to attend these presentations?

1. If you are interested in joining the course yourself in the future – the next course starts on 10th February 2011 – this is an ideal opportunity to see what others have learned and speak to them directly to find out if this course is for you;
2. If you are looking for potential collaborations or new freelancers or employees who are well trained in the latest developments in the area of Search & Social Media Marketing you can meet our course delegates;
3. If you are simply interested in meeting people in the Search & Social Media Marketing field and sharing experiences.

The Search & Social Media Marketing course offers students ‘Search Engine Marketing Professional Organisation (SEMPO) Institute Online Training’ certification and practical examples shared by guest speakers from local agencies such as PushOn, Latitude, MEC Manchester and academics from the Information Systems, Organisations and Society (ISOS) Research Centre. The final week of the course offers delegates the opportunity to summarise their learning experience over the weeks and to demonstrate their knowledge in a practical task such as writing a guest blog post on a topic of their choice.

What are the guest blog presentation details?

• When? – Wednesday 17th November 2010
• What time? From 16:00 to 20:00
• RSVP deadline (for refreshments) – Friday 12th November 12:00 noon
• Where? – University of Salford, Maxwell Building
• How to book? – email Kate Bowes K.Bowes@salford.ac.uk, telephone: 0161 295 6352

Who are the delegates?

Here are some of the delegates:

Jamie Carter

Marketing/Digital Design Manager/SEO/ Web Design

Chris Ellison

Marketing Assistant at PJ Web Solutions

Jane English

Design & Marketing at Cetus Solutions Limited

Michael Fraser

Project Manager at Sizzle Media

Steven Flower

Technology Enabler at Substance

Richard Hayes

Marketing Officer at School of Art & Design, The University of Salford

Keith Hobson

Director at Cortelmedia

Noel Mellor

Copywriter, journalist, blogger

Laila Naqvi

Student at The University of Salford

Mark Sanders

Online Communications Officer at Salford Business School, University of Salford,

Mike Towers

Director Mantra Design & Print Ltd

Peter Vella

Sales and Marketing Director at Countryside Properties (Northern)

Alastair Walker

Freelance copywriter at Source PR Cheshire

To find out more about this exciting new programme, a Taster and Enrolment evening was held on the 1st September.

The following Keyword Research taster material were used – just in case you missed the session you can still have a look at the material that will be used at the face-to-face sessions. This material is in addition to the SEMPO Institute provided self-study courses!

To reserve a place on the Search & Social Media Marketing programme or for further information about the programme, please contact Victoria Hartley on 0161 295 3547 or email v.hartley@salford.ac.uk.

Please note that places on this programme are limited to a maximum of 12 delegates – there are only limited places available! Please book your place using this on-line form http://www.business.salford.ac.uk/academicenterprise/courses.php

Salford University is proud to announce another innovative course to teach the essentials of Search and Social Media Marketing.

Search & Social Media Marketing benefits to you:

• Access to the latest thinking and practice in Search and Social Media Marketing
• An industry respected qualification
• Enhancement of your employability profile and client recognition
• Opportunity to further your skills and knowledge of Search and Social Media Marketing
• Learning method to suit your day-to-day commitments: one evening per week attendance with online support

Choice of full programme or just Foundation or Professional:

• Search and Social Media Marketing Foundation – if you are new to this area
• Search and Social Media Marketing Professional – if you are already a practitioner

The course prices

• Foundation – £1000
• Professional – £1500
• Combined price for both of the above is £2000

Dates

Course start day is Wednesday 15th September 2010

The evening sessions will take place over 10 consecutive weeks

Booking a Place

If you would like to book a place on the course, please complete the online booking form; please make sure you indicate the level of study – Foundation or Professional.

Alternatively you can contact Victoria Hartley on 0161 295 3547 to reserve a place.

Victoria Hartley – Search & Social Media Marketing Course Administrator
Salford Business School
Enterprise Hub
University of Salford
Salford, Greater Manchester
M5 4WT, UK
Tel:+44 (0)161 295 3547
v.hartley@salford.ac.uk